It must surely help that ballet in general, and Scottish Ballet in particular, has suddenly become so incredibly sexy. Or do I mean sexed-up? "If you try to do new things," suggests Soon Ja Lee, who joined the company last year, "it tends to go in that direction."

An aritcle on "Tocororo" in this past Sunday's Times Culture magazine confirms that Jose Oduardo Perez has left the Scottish Ballet, at least for a year. He had signed a contract with an Italian TV show. No details on the show, but I think it's a kind of extended talent show - if it's the one I came across when looking for informatino on the new RDB corps dancer.

I do hope he gets plenty of opportunities to guest with other companies during the year, because his presence on the live stage will be missed.

Scottish Ballet set for Edinburgh Festival comeback By TIM CORNWELL for The Scotsman

SCOTTISH Ballet has been in talks with the Edinburgh International Festival over returning the company to the event’s line-up for the first time in more than 15 years.

The ballet’s new manager, Cindy Sughrue, sees a Festival appearance as a key move in raising the company’s profile after its relaunch last September. Ms Sughrue said she may also approach the BBC in an bid to have the company’s Nutcracker used for its Christmas broadcast. That slot has traditionally gone to the Royal Ballet or other English companies.

CLAIRE Robertson has just spent hours switching between a pair of stiletto heels and the satin pointe shoes that are the tools of her trade.

...

In the evocatively titled Twilight, Robertson dons a pair of skyscraper heels, while in his ensemble work, Two Pieces for Het, she embarks on an emotional journey through a show of sheer physical bravura - on pointe.

Though a highly trained artist seems an unlikely calendar girl, Mutso is one of the performers being vigorously promoted by Scottish Ballet to help it win a wider audience.

Fans of the ballet can find out more than they’ll ever need to know about their favourites. Mutso’s Dancer of the Month entry on the company website (which reveals she loves potatoes, Scottish salmon and shopping for handbags) is complemented by fellow dancer Jarkko Lehmus, who reviews visiting companies for the site’s Dancers on Dance feature. Another, Diana Loosmore, who formerly worked with Kylie Minogue, has already been used for similar publicity material.

Fascinating that they will stage a revised version of "Artifact", which we saw Ballett Frankfurt perform at Sadler's Wells three years ago. It's imaginative of Page not to have gone for the safety of "The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude", "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated" or "Steptext". My memory is that there is quite a lot of pointe work in "Artifact".

Overall, it sounds like a very exciting programme. Hans van Manen's "Twilight" has the woman on high heels for most of the performance and with the prepared piano making plinking sounds it's a piece not easily forgotten and I'm always keen to see it again.

Fingers crossed for the new Page ballet - he remains one of the most exciting ballet choreographers in the UK.

Must see if I can get up to Scotland to see this programme. Very best wishes to all at Scottish Ballet as they embark on their second full season under Ashley Page.

SCOTTISH BALLET is in good, if not yet world-beating, shape with Ashley Page at the helm. The former Royal Ballet dancer has inaugurated his second season as artistic director with a chewy programme of four dances (touring Scotland until mid-October). Meaty one-acts by William Forsythe and Page himself are served either side of two tasty morsels from the veteran Dutch master Hans van Manen.

Page’s world premiere Nightswimming into Day proved hard to swallow in such august company. This ambitious piece for 16 dancers seemed to have been fashioned by artists for whom “less is more” is an alien concept.

That Scottish Ballet are even tackling this – Forsythe's Suite from Artifact, two short works by Hans van Manen and a new piece from artistic director Ashley Page – signals that they're not resting on the hard-won laurels of their excellent spring.

Wrestling matches and gamey wit In The Daily Telegraph Ismene Brown reviews the Scottish Ballet at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Ashley Page deserves acclaim for the smart and convincing modern look he has been giving to ballet north of the border. Scotland knew it couldn't handle or afford the most difficult classics, and wishy-washy folksiness hadn't sold under previous directors.

So the Scots decided they wanted modern, but not scary; spectacle, but not fairies; and a piece of the European glamour surrounding ballet. All on the cheap.

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